Charlotte Hornets (20-21) at San Antonio Spurs (22-17)
Horrible news around the NBA and for the Hornets as potential rookie of the year LaMelo Ball has been ruled out for the season with a wrist injury. The injury couldn't have come at a worse time for this team after 3 straight defeats and the Pacers/Bulls are on their heels for 8th spot in the East. Luckily, they do have DeVonte' Graham on the bench who'll fill the point guard role and he should enjoy a good matchup against the Spurs.
Meanwhile, the Spurs 3 game winning streak ended with a 120-113 defeat against the Bucks last time out but they should be happy to be at home on Tuesday after 5 straight road games. The Spurs also have a nice matchup against a struggling Hornets defence. So the likes of DeRozan and Murray should be hard to contain.
The injury to Ball is massive but the Hornets also haven't been playing well lately. To top it off, they've lost 12 of 13 at this stadium and lost to the Spurs by 12 on their home court in mid-February. So we can't look past the Spurs at the line.
Stadium Record
The Spurs have been up and down at home this season with a 10-10 record. The Hornets have a horrible 1-12 record at this venue.
Head to Head Record
In the only meeting of the season, the Spurs easily won 122-110 and also hold a 7-3 record in the last 10 meetings.
Best Bet
Utah Jazz (30-11) at Chicago Bulls (19-22)
The Jazz continue their road-trip to Chicago this Tuesday after 2 wins / 2 losses in their last 4 road games. So consistent performances will be the gameplan for the Jazz at the moment as they still hold the #1 seed in the West. But the Suns are right of their tail. The injury status of Rudy Gobert will be something to monitor as well. The Bulls usually struggle against centres but if Gobert is missing, Donovan Mitchell will need to take over.
Meanwhile, the Bulls are back on their home court after an easy 100-86 win over the Pistons and a tough 131-127 loss in Denver. While they'll be happy about conceding just 86 pts against the Pistons, they'll know the Jazz offer a much more challenging offence, especially since the Bulls have been owned by power forwards/centres this season.
The total for this game looks a tad high considering a few trends. The Under holds a 4-1 record in the Bulls last 5 home games and it's also 7-1 when they meet Utah at this venue. If the Bulls bring their defence, this should go well under 231.5 pts.
Stadium Record
The Bulls have struggled at home recently with a 2-5 record. Utah holds a poor 3-7 record at this venue in the last 10 meetings.
Head to Head Record
Since 2015, the Jazz have a 6-4 record against Chicago and have won the last 3 meetings.
Best Bet
Atlanta Hawks (22-20) at Los Angeles Clippers (27-16)
The Hawks have turned their season around after 8 straight wins and they're now the 4th seed in the East. However, the Clippers will be a much challenging matchup because the Hawks haven't really played a tough opponent since beating the Heat a few weeks ago. Trae Young is also battling a quad injury and that'll likely see John Collins continue his red-hot form, especially with Ibaka out.
The Clippers are a much better team at home after 3 straight blowout wins over the Hornets (125-98), Warriors (130-104) and Wizards (135-116). As such, they'll be very confident of ending the Hawks winning run. Which as usual will start with the combination of Leonard and George. However, the Hawks have been strong defensively against small forwards and Paul George isn't a model of consistency at the moment.
This should be a good matchup between two likely playoff teams and as a result, we like defence to rule. For the Hawks, they've allowed under 100 points in back to back games and will be confident of stopping the Clippers offensive success on their home court. The Clippers also have a 7-3 unders record in their last 10 games.
Stadium Record
The Clippers have won 4 of their last 5 at home. Atlanta holds a 3-6 record at this venue against the Clippers.
Head to Head Record
In the earlier season meeting, the Hawks won 108-99 on their home court. But since 2016, the Clippers are 6-4 head to head.
Best Bet
